Important update to WFAA systems

Important update to WFAA systems

WFAA is making progress in upgrading business critical systems. These upgrades have been in progress throughout 2022 and are continuing through 2023:

• WFAA’s ABE CRM (Blackbaud CRM) will be sunset and replaced by 4WARD CRM (Salesforce)
• WFAA’s financial system (Financial Edge) will be sunset and replaced by FAST (Oracle NetSuite)
• WFAA’s Gift and Fund Management will be connected to the FAST system but will have minimal changes to access and functionality.

WFAA is committed to our digital transformation vision for the future. We will continue to be a vital partner and trusted resource for UW-Madison, provide more meaningful and personal experiences for constituents, and leverage information and systems to build community and support for UW-Madison.

This technical and cultural transformation will allow us to engage more effectively with our alumni and donors through more personalized communications and leverage our deep knowledge of the constituent to enhance their engagement experience, in addition to helping us operate more efficiently.

As we continue preparing for this transition, these system changes will potentially impact access for current CRM users. We are actively analyzing CRM user access and license provisioning. Once these dependencies are determined, we will communicate specific impacts to CRM user access and prepare individuals to use the new tools and capabilities. Our close collaboration will ensure that we work with campus leaders and users to provide appropriate access to WFAA’s CRM, and that campus users are sufficiently trained and supported through this transition. We do not expect licensing changes for our Gift & Fund Management website.

The anticipated Go-Live dates are early July for FAST and early Fall for 4WARD, with more precise dates to be announced later this spring. Training and preparedness activities for campus users will take place shortly before the cutover date.

As we continue through implementation, we will share updates with campus leaders and system users. Questions related to these implementations can be submitted to lumenprogram@supportuw.org

Thank you for your continued support of the growth and success of our WFAA team.